Ian Clayton

Ian Clayton has been a jobbing writer, storyteller and broadcaster for over 30 years. He has written on subjects as varied as the environment, homelessness, jazz and rugby league. His stories are about making sense of where we come from. He has written three memoirs,Bringing It All Back Home is about his love of music is a critically acclaimed bestseller; Our Billie has been described as one of the best books about loss ever written; Song For My Fatheris about his absent father and a reflection on his life long search for a father-figure. Right Up Your Street is the first volume of columns he’s written for Pontefract and Castleford Express. He is the co-compiler of Wisdom of Our Own, a book that tells the story of a learning centre that grew out of the Women Against Pit Closures movement.

Ian still lives in the town where he was born, with his partner Heather, a social worker and artist, and his son Edward, a musician.

Ian Clayton answers questions about Bringing It All Back Home in a public house in the Castleford Potteries, a traditional drinking hole adjacent to a dilapidated old tin hut which was once home to a school where a young Henry Moore began his education.

‘Ian Clayton is a warm, witty, funny, loving man and that shows in this brilliant compendium of true stories. This is a beautiful book, I think you will enjoy it whatever walk of life you are from.’ – Richard Hawley

‘Ian Clayton has created one of the best books about popular music ever written.’ – Alan Lewis, Record Collector

‘The writing is deceptively good, no long words, no self-conscious writing-as-wriitng of the kind that wins Booker prizes, but all the better for that. Very strongly recommended.’ – Charlie Gillett, The Sound of the World

‘The best read I’ve had all year, at times very funny, genuinely touching and always deeply personal. The perfect book for anyone who has defined their life through music and the memories of their youth.’ - Joanne Harris

‘I love this book. It resonates with me in so many ways, and I reckon it will resonate with most of the people who read this.’ – Boff (Chumbawumba), ROCKnREEL

‘Ian Clayton has written not just a masterpiece about music but a beautiful and important work of social history. He writes wonderfully, easily and conversationally about music’s capacity to electrify, liberate and expand one’s imagination, curiosity and sense of possibility. And no other book I have read captures the companionship of shared musical tastes as this does. Again and again, Bringing It All Back Home made me rush to the record shelves. But almost regardless of subject matter, this is a literary triumph of irrepressible humour, touching humility and downright humanity. At the end of this book, you’ll believe Ian Clayton is your best mate. Or you’ll really wish he were. Ian Clayton understands!’ â€“ Andy Kershaw

â€˜The storytelling spins a musical web, glistening with treasured encounters and centred on home and family. Remarkable from both musical and human points of viewâ€¦(it) crystallises Claytonâ€™s humanity, candour and generosity.â€™ â€“ Felicity Greenland, English Folk Dance and Song Magazine

â€˜A moving story of reconnection… littered with laugh out loud quips.’ â€“ Guardian

â€˜Ian Clayton has an unshakeable belief in the power of stories to bring people together, coming as he does from that great tradition of storytellers that includes the likes of Stan Barstow, Alan Sillitoe and his hero Barry Hines. Song For My Father reverberates with warmth, humour and joy and itâ€™s a story people can relate to.â€™Â â€“ Yorkshire Post

â€˜Song For My Father breaks your heart then puts it back together, often with the kindness of strangers. Clayton unearths the poetry of the everyday and his journey makes us re-evaluate our own. A rare thing, a book that makes us laugh, cry and question.â€™ â€“ Alice Nutter

â€˜This is a song for four generations of fathers, mothers and the whole tapestry ofÂ humanity in a small mining town in the North of England; a kaleidoscope of characters which are brilliantly illuminated as Ian searches for a true perception of why we are what we are.Â I envy his talent.â€™ â€“ John Finch, creator of Sam and Family at War